Creatures of the Night
by Realistic Fate
Summary: What if the Demons weren't the last Race of the People? What if another Race had laid dormant for centuries, and was now surfacing, caring nothing for humans and fairies alike? And will Artemis be able to stop them? Or will he just become the next meal
1. Prologue

_Prologue:_

_The night was dark, blacker than black, and every little snap of a twig nearly drove him to insanity. The hike had been a dare, something he had readily agreed to, mainly to impress the many ladies there. Though, he now realized, it probably hadn't been worth it. There had been stories about these woods, stories of disappearing night-hikers, campers, and forest rangers. All at night, and their bones were always found, in the morning, picked clean and white, accenting their demonic grins of death. These images haunted him as he stumbled through the thick brush._

_The air grew thick with the stench of bog decay, warm and smoggy. As if it reached up just to trip him, he tripped over a protruding tree root. Cussing angrily, he stood, brushing dirt off his clothes and examining the grimy wounds in his hands and knees. He was just about to give up and march right back to his house, when another being stumbled out of the brambles._

_She was absolutely gorgeous, but not in the way that the girls at the party. She was angelic, with dark hair, porcelain-pale skin, moon-shaped grey eyes…he found himself melting into those eyes, insubstantial, weightless, floating. Then, to his immense surprise, she ran towards him._

"_Are you alright?" she cried. Even in his beauty-induced stupor, he noticed that her voice was off…too stiff, unnatural. But he didn't have a chance at this point._

_She held his hand, examining the bloody wounds. He puffed out his chest, wanting to seem brave for this beauty. "It's nothing, really." But he didn't pull his hand away from her…her skin was so smooth, so soft… _

_She looked at him sadly. "But it is something." And then, with sad look in her smoky eyes, she whispered, "I'm so sorry." And she took a step back._

_This was the signal. Four black shapes dove for the man, pining him to the ground, snapping his neck. He was dead in seconds, a painless death, and three of the four hags lifted him between them. The fourth stepped over to the pretty girl, placing her hand on her shoulder. "You did well tonight, Iris. Perhaps you could try-" The girl called Iris pulled away, turning her back on the hag. _

"_No, Mother, I will not." She spoke firmly, not like someone submissive to every wish. Her voice had changed since she had spoken to the poor man, the now-dead man…She shuddered at the thought. It was firmer, and slightly rougher. "This is disgusting," She hissed through her teeth. It could happen every night for the rest of her existance, and she would never get used to it._

_Her mother shook her head, tuning back to the bog and walking away. "I will never understand you, girl." She sank into the muck, following her sisters._

_Iris watched her go, a single spark of menace in her pale grey eyes. "And I hope you never get the chance, Mother." She turned and walked away._

A/N

Was this ok? Wow, I've been working on this story since last summer...it's taken a long time to get down....Thanks to Kalvin (If that's how you spell your name). You obnoxious twit, thanks for stealing the original copy of this story. :( Meany. Anyway, please R&R!


	2. Chapter 1 The Porcelain Doll Child

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* * *

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Porcelain Doll

_Porcelain doll of exquisite beauty, carved from a master's hand  
__Glazed and polished in a mystic hearth of ordinary dirt and sand  
__Eyes of the deepest green, and lips of ruby red  
__A chain of pearls and precious gold, a tiara for your head  
__A smile of rapturous beauty, what is it that you see?  
__Veiled and hidden, the longing for a forgotten dynasty?  
__Beguiling doll of seductive beauty, passion and ecstasy  
__Why am I drawn into your world, is that my prophecy?  
__Or have you seen too many broken dreams, to wish one of your own?  
__How cruel of you to tempt this fool into wanting to take you home. _

_Fred Haney _

_Chapter One (Part One) ~ The Porcelain Doll Child_

If you new Artemis Fowl, you would know that he despised High School. You would know that he hated his teachers, who knew less about their own subjects than he. You would know that he hated cafeteria lunches, lumps of potato-things, swimming in gray-coloured gravy made with the drippings of God knows what. You would know that that he found the little "cliques" in his school to be a bore, all the loud, animal-like creatures that called themselves students.

If you truly knew Artemis Fowl, you would most likely not exist, for not many people knew the real Artemis Fowl. With the exception of a few close (and unbelievable) friends and acquaintances, Artemis tended to keep to himself, and for that, the rest of the world can count their lucky stars. His high school would one day thank him for this.

As he shoved his books into his bag on a particularly foul morning, contemplating just how much he hated high school as the rain drove relentlessly against the windows, he caught a glimpse of the morning paper. Most of the front page was devoted to a picture of a grisly bog, and the story of yet another murder. The fifth this month in that area. He scanned the rest of the page for anything important, but there were no leads on the case; if this was one person, then they were doing a good job of covering up their tracks. No murder weapons, no finger-or-foot prints, and no damage to the victim's bones besides broken necks and..._teeth_ marks…that the police said could have been from any number of animals discovering the bones after the crime. The author of the article urged people to stay out of the woods and bog-areas after dark. He rolled his eyes and closed the catch on the bag, walking out the door and into the Bentley where Butler was waiting to drive him to the front gates of O'Connell Secondary School.

Butler took saw the amused look on his young charge's face and grimaced. "So," he said, with the false casualty of someone trying to act like they didn't care. "What has the great Artemis Fowl got to say about the Bog Murders?" Artemis scoffed. Like he didn't care. He looked out the lashing rain, the flashes of lightning illuminating the grey sky.

"It's obviously a human…" He said slowly. He could have simply said that he didn't know, instead of stating the obvious, but Artemis detested saying that there was anything he did not know. He said no more on the subject.

They rode the rest of the way to the school in silence. Artemis stared out the window, pondering quantum physics and bog monsters. Once or twice he could have sworn he saw a shadowy figure running alongside the vehicle, but, at the speed Butler drove on deserted country roads, he knew that was impossible.

* * *

O'Connell Secondary School is situated in Dublin, where it has stood as an educational facility for over a hundred years. Over time, little had changed; Not their rules, regulations, teaching methods, or cafeteria menu. Sometimes Artemis even thought back with longing nostalgia to his days at St. Bartleby's. And it was then that he knew that his school life had hit rock bottom.

Butler parked the car in front of the school, and Artemis was gone, umbrella opened protectively over his head. If it hadn't been shading his eyes, blocking most of his sightline, he might have noticed the shadow not ten feet away as it solidified and took form. Then it ran away, with no witnesses, into the building.

* * *

Class was a bore to Artemis. He read through most of his morning classes, paying only the minimal amount of attention required. He wrote down his assignments to complete later, occasionally raising his hand to irritate his teachers with the knowledge that he was smarter than them (he rather enjoyed this part).

He only raised his head when the new girl was being introduced in Literature to be polite. No one else noticed the soft _thud_ when his book hit the table, as his jaw dropped to the floor. The pale girl's name, the teacher had said only moments before, was Iris Harper. The thought of such an unusual name would cross his mind vaguely later on, but most common thought vanished from his mind at this instant. Her face was like porcelain, and her dark, wavy hair was pulled into a ponytail at the back of her head. Her standard-issue navy school sweatshirt and grey slacks looked wrong on her, like she should be wearing a silken ball gown instead. Her face was fairly emotionless, putting into his mind's eye a picture of a tiny porcelain doll, face set, eyes unmoving, unblinking, forever frozen. But beautiful, with sparkling eyes, little red lips, glossy hair. Yes, that was this Iris-girl to a T.

Mr. Bonfield turned to Iris, and even he, like the rest of his class, seemed momentarily stunned by her. But he composed himself. "Iris, why don't you tell the class a little about yourself?" Artemis rolled his eyes. The poor girl had probably been asked this a thousand times already that day. But, almost as quickly as it had popped into his mind, the thought vanished, along with every other thought in his mind, sarcastic or otherwise. The Porcelain Doll began to talk.

She gave a small smile to the class, then said, "As Mr. Bonfield has already told you, my name is Iris Harper. I recently moved here from Calgary. Canada," she added in response to the blank faces her words were given. "My mother moved us here for her job and, as I have never lived anywhere other than my hometown, I'm hoping to enjoy my stay here." Her speech was quick and practiced, like she had spent hours saying it over in front of a mirror, watching every facial movement. She had it perfected, her face unreadable as she scanned the class. But the second they laid sight of Artemis, they lit up, her porcelain face breaking out into a wide smile. Artemis's eyes widened at the strange action; Girls didn't notice him, especially extraordinarily beautiful girls…He felt his face flush, and he looked down. He didn't look up when Iris sat down in the empty seat next to him, nor did he notice the furtive little glances that she shot him throughout the class. He didn't look up until the bell rang, when he made a mad bolt to the door, gone before any other student had even thought to leave their chairs.

* * *

To his apparent dismay (and private elation), Iris was assigned a locker not two down from his. He watched her walk towards it, her dark ponytail swinging gently, seemingly gliding over the floor. Several girls who, though Artemis could pick out of a line-up, would never for the life of him even attempt to remember the names of, crowded around her, gossiping guiltlessly (though, he noticed to his relief, Iris was not one of the gossipers).

One of them, who Artemis thought to be named Sarah (or was it Sally? Sandra?), noticed Iris casting a glance his way. The look she gave the new girl, one of slightly disgusted amusement, shut the other girls right up. "Don't even bother with him," She "whispered", still making sure that it was loud enough for all to hear. "That's Artemis Fowl. You know, stuck-up little heir. Doesn't think anyone here is good enough for him…" The girls nodded in agreement and formed a little huddle around Iris, shuffling her away like that.

There was only one more class in the day. Artemis took his usual seat at the back, and found himself hoping against hope that Iris was not in this class. But, much to his luck, the pale girl walked through the door and to the back of the room, where he himself had claimed a seat. She shot a quick smile his way, her face flushing when she saw him looking back at her. She was even more than pretty she blushed, Artemis thought. It added colour to her otherwise white face.

* * *

When Artemis walked out to the Bentley after school, the rain had stopped and the sun was pouring around the court yard, making tiny rainbows in the still-grey sky. He felt like he was in a daze, floating along in his own world. He sat down in the car, staring into space, his eyes hazy. Butler immediately thought something was wrong.

"Artemis…" he said warily. "Artemis, snap out of it." He waved a hand in front of his young charge's face. Artemis looked at him.

"Yes, I am well aware that you have a hand," he said, scathingly so he even surprised himself. The father away he seemed to get from the school, the girl, the pretty porcelain doll child, the clearer he seemed to be able to think. His head felt as though he had been soundly asleep and then doused with a bucket of ice water. He shook his head. "There was a new girl…" He said, trying to remember the exact colour of her eyes. The only one that came to mind was a pale smoky grey, though he felt that that couldn't be right. Too dull for a girl like her.

Butler smiled and nodded understandingly. The silence that filled the vehicle the rest of the way home was not an uncomfortable one.

* * *

_Chapter 1 (Part 2) ~ The Plan_

Iris followed Fowl's car through the Irish countryside. Her dark hair rippled through the rain, but she knew that she would be perfectly dry by the time she reached the school. Once or twice, she could have sworn that Fowl caught sight of her, and she couldn't help but startle a grazing animal or two, but she let these incidents pass from her mind. Iris was a firm believer of the age-old saying, "_don't dwell on the past_". Meaning, of course, that she didn't always pay attentionto the consequences of her sometimes rash actions. But she let that pass.

The school day was boring for Iris. They could teach her nothing that she hadn't already been taught by her aunts over her many long years. She could read, write, do sums, _anything_, better than any other in most of her classes. Except, she knew, for Artemis Fowl. He was a genius, if nothing else, and Iris looked forward to testing his IQ with her own. Finally, there he was, in her Literature class. Though she was usually in great control of her emotions, she couldn't help breaking out into a wide smile when she saw him. But there was only a tinge of menace behind the smile, which honestly surprised her.

She sat beside him, hoping to attract more attention, but he kept his head down. Almost as if…but no. He couldn't possibly know about the Charm. No one else knew. She kept shooting "casual" glances at him, but her never once looked up. Perhaps he was immune. She vowed to try harder.

* * *

At her locker, which was conveniently placed not two down from Artemis's (planned, of course, through heavy bewitchment of the principal. A number of tiny, stick-like girls had followed Iris out of the class, chattering non-stop in her ears. The dull, tainted blood-lust buried deep within her snarled, begging her to turn around and knock their heads off, but she was well practised with her vegetarian ways, and ignored it.

* * *

She followed him to the school gates, where he climbed into an old Bentley. He was talking to the driver, a large Eurasian man with a shaved head.

"_There was a new girl…"_ Artemis said to the man, Iris picking up every word. She smiled. So her Charm had worked after all, hmm? It was time to put her plan into action.

Her body felt like it was melting. It became weightless, insubstantial, a cloud, a puff of smoke. It was not an uncomfortable feeling, but not a pleasant one, either. Then, as the shadow her body longed to be, she raced off down the road after them, faster than any _real_ human had any right to be.

Though even this wasn't worth the Curse.

* * *

"Where have you been?" her Aunty Ocypete asked as she returned to the tree. The tree was the meeting place, the "home". Iris pressed a knot in the old wood, and a small door creaked open.

"Nowhere."

"What did you do?" Aunty called after her as she escaped up the stairs.

"Nothing."

"Who did you see?" She screeched in a final attempt to have her reveal the answers, but Iris shut her bedroom door in her Aunt's hideous face.

"No one," she mumbled with finality, as she leaned against the door, smiling slightly to herself.

* * *

**A/N Yay, chapter numero 2! I hoped you liked it! I know Arty was a litle bit OOC there, but that will make sense in later chapters. So will all that stuff about a Curse and a Charm. And the tree. So will the name Ocypete (Pronounced OO-sip-i-tee). Sorry for any minor and TEMPORARY confusion. But, again, I hoped you liked it. Please review. Critique abou my spelling is acceppted. I blame my laptop. (The "T" key is broken.) But no flaming please. I don't like to have to delete your reviews.**

**Confundedly,**

**T.E.C.**

**(p.s. Aem. I forgot to add, O'Connell Secondary School is a real place. In Ireland. And, as I have been to Irelnd all of once in my life, I've never been there, or even seen it. So, if you go there, and see SOMETHING that I messed up in my description of the school, umm....feel free to let me know, but be nice; remember, I've only ever seen _Canadien_ schools. And some American. But still, this is all I know. Don't belame me for my close-mindedness. So, if you think the cafeteria food there isn't all that bad (trust me. Here, it is.) or anything like that, I reiterate: _tell me._ I thank you.)**


	3. Chapter 2 Into the Woods

_Chapter 2 (Part 1) ~ Into the Woods_

_Her feet pounded against the hard earthen floor, her pulse hammering in her ears. She was not fooled by this beautiful stranger, with her dark hair and pale ivory skin. Branches of low-hanging pines scraped her skin, thorns pierced and tore at her black jumpsuit…the scent of blood only drove the creatures to run faster, to stop and kill her. Blue sparks danced faintly across her skin, healing the tiny, insignificant wounds, but they were almost run out. Soon they would be gone, and she would begin to loose blood._

_Suddenly, one of them appeared in front of her, the pretty one. The black iron and smoky-quartz pendant hung around her neck, glimmering in the dull light of the moon, the evil thing that should have been destroyed centuries ago when it was made. The little elf noticed that the girl was quite young, maybe just sixteen. Her face was set, but her dark gray eyes were soft, scared even. For a moment, she felt a tinge of pity for the girl. This was not her crime, something she was forced into doing by that malevolent Charm. _

_But then she remembered where she was, remembered that she herself was the one in danger, and her breathing increased, sweat beading on her forehead. This girl may have been nearly as scared as she, but she knew that she had to be just as, if not more, deadly than the others. She backed against a tree, if not to escape, but to cover her back. They couldn't possibly sneak up on her now. Though, as it turns out, they didn't need bother._

_The shadows around them solidified, gained form. These were horrible; four hags, each with ratty hair, and rags with the stains of what she hoped was not blood. The one closest to her grinned, and closed the short distance between them. She ran a thin, twisted finger down her face. The jagged nail carved a bloody line down her face, and she was instantly paralyzed. The pain was amazing, horrible, intense. She knew that she now had moments to live as the poison spread through her system, and she wanted to screamed, warn the rest of the team to get away, get back underground while they could. But her voice, while it was the only part of her with any function, abandoned her. Ugly 1 giggled, a sound like a million nails on the world's biggest chalkboard. "She's a pretty one, isn't she, Sisters?" Her voice was no more pleasant than her laugh. The elf girl tried to spit at her, but as she couldn't move her head, the goo dribbled down her chin. The four hags cackled hysterically; the little girl stood stock-still. Her eyes, cast in gloom, seemed to plead with her. Like she were the one needing saving. _

_The relative silence was broken by the hiss of static from her communicator. "Sound off…" Her heart leaped as her team called out their numbers, the slight panic as they discovered her absence. Then, static as they ran towards her still flashing signal. _

_The Charmed girl looked over her shoulder. "They're coming," She said simply. The girl's voice drew the air from the elf's lungs. It was the wind through the leaves, the crash of the waves on the surf, the ring of a bell, the most beautiful sounds in the world. But there was sorrow behind that voice, a pain that no child should feel. She felt drawn to the girl. But no, she thought, that's just the Charm._

_The hags ran off as her vision began to dim, and she collapsed to the forest floor. The thump of her team's feet as they raced toward her signal, and she her stiff body loosened as the last dregs of the poison worked their dark magic. She could move now, as though she had the energy to. It had always been hard to picture her death, though she worked in a profession where nearly every moment could be her last. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that her death was so near. A single tear slipped down her nose, the toxins in the fluid burning her skin on it's way down. Blue sparks danced across her skin, feeble and weak, tried in vain to heal the poison that now coursed through her blood stream._

_Five others knelt beside her, checking her wound, calling to her to stay awake, sending harried orders over their communicators. But one red-headed elf, the new girl, leaned down to her mentor's face. _

"_What happened?" She whispered, tracing a finger over the no-longer-burning abrasion that ran the length of her face, from the corner of her right eye to her chin. Red's eye's grew wide. "They're here, aren't they?" She gasped as the dying elf's head jerked up, then down._

_The leader sent the others off to set up a signal. He turned to his partner, his best friend since the Academy, his more than friend, brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. His own eyes began to run, tears dripping down onto her face. The cool, poison-free liquid steamed as made contact with her flesh, but it was amazingly refreshing. "I'm sorry," he muttered, stroking her hair. One hand moved under her head, cradling it. "So…so sorry…"_

_Mustering every ounce of strength she possessed, she managed to whisper, "Not…your fault." Her every word came out as a garbled choke. "Don't blame…" And then, her warning. "The Charm…Black…pendant…Harp…" She was cut off by a round of lung-rattling coughs and wheezes. Ribs broke, snapping like dry twigs, and he cringed at the awful sound._

"_No…No…No.." He managed to say, as her eyes closed for the last time. The pain was gone, and she was floating, flying, soaring, __breathing__…_

_Deeper in the forest, the harpies listened with glee to the chaos they had created in their wake. They hadn't had this much fun in centuries. Of course, they hadn't actually planned on the girl they had chased being found before she died, but hearing the stifled cries of the poor, poor leader was well worth the pains of hunger rumbling in their empty bellies. The only one not giggling with happiness was the little grey-eyed half-harpy. She drew her knees up to her chin and hugged them, her body shuddering with silent, dry sobs. The terror in the face of the elf, right before she was attacked, was horrible, but the feeling that she no had it far better than Iris herself was far more dreadful._

**(A/N Olright, here it is. Crappy, but here. I realize that this isn't my best work, and so if you feel that you must review simply to tell me that (a.k.a. flame) Don't. Easy as that. I will delete it. If you have an idea on how I can fix it, that would be helpful and appreciated.  
Also, thanks to my (very few) dedicated reviewer(s). I do realize that I said I would post this yesterday, but with me, you just have to take for granted that when I say "tomorrow", I mean "two/three or ore days from now". I'm not trying to be mean, that's just the way I am. But, again, thanks!**

**Review and You can be my new best friend (kidding, but still),**

**T.E.C.**


	4. Chapter 3 Vivid Memories and Insomnia

_Chapter 4 (Part 1) ~ Vivid Memories_

Holly knew that the memory of her first above-ground mission would haunt her forever. The painful look in Danae's eyes as the harpy poison consumed her body, like a flame searching feverishly for kindling. The sound of breaking bones as she fought to cough up the phlegm that clogged her lungs. And the look in Root's eyes as he watched her die.

She tried to forget, or at least, not let it control the rest of her life. But she had other memories like that, too; the day her mother died, when Root was killed, so painful, so vivid. A horrible memory. The only reason, she thought, that she was remembering it at all was because she was having a bad day. Not the first, but annoying whatsoever.

Sitting in front of a atrociously slow computer, waiting for something work-related to pop up, she drummed her fingers against the desktop. The working day not yet half over, she was frustrated that her eyes were drooping constantly, as this made it even harder than normal to fully concentrate.

The computer froze. Holly stared in slight disbelief, then shook her head. "Perfect," she said sarcastically. "Just my luck." She tapped a few keys in a half-hearted attempt to get it started back up, but, knowing it would never work, gave up. Letting the muscles in her neck give out, she hit her forehead against her desk, once, twice, thrice. _Bang, bang, bang_.

To her dismay, the noise attracted someone who happened to be passing by the open door of her office. He cantered into the room. "Holly, are you alright?" Foaly asked, eyeing his friend warily.

Holly looked up at him, glaring. "Your supposedly revolutionary computer just froze on me." She went back to smacking her forehead against the desk.

Foaly leaned over the perfect example of someone under far too much stress, typed a few keys, and the computer restarted, finding it's way back to where Holly had been moments before the crash. He read over her shoulder;

_O'Connell Secondary School; Meanscoil Ui Chonaill _

He snickered. "I didn't know that you held an interest in Irish schools, Holly…particularly this school."

Holly exited the web page before he could read further, the glared at him, though, the image was ruined slightly by the faint red flush running over her cheeks. Still, the little elf's angry scowl was not something easily ignored, and, throwing his hands into the air (and splattering Holly with a few carrot bits in the process), he left, shutting the door behind him.

Holly reloaded the page staring at a simple picture; a group of geeky-looking students dressed in school code, flashing the camera winning tin grins. The caption said something about a national math award, but she only had eyes for the pale teen in the back row, the only one who was not smiling, hunched away from the group as though simply touching them would be toxic. She watched his eyes, one blue, one hazel, stare at something behind the photographer, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was looking at…

………

At almost the same moment, someone hundreds of miles away was looking at the same picture, but wondered different, albeit similar things; Why were his eyes different? What did he gaze at so intently? What caused that little furrow between his eyes…

_Chapter 4 (Part 2) ~ The End of Freedom_

"You were WHAT!?!?" The hag shrieked, clenching bony hands into fists. Her yellowish eyes bulged as she stared in horror at her cringing daughter. Iris's eyes were closed to the flying spittle that rained from Aello's mouth. "WHAT were you THINKING!?!?" Her breathing was hard and raspy as the remnants of her screech echoed around the hall.

When Iris deemed that her eyes would be safe from soggy shrapnel, she opened them an shrugged nonchalantly. Her mother's outbursts, which were quite common, was not her biggest concern, but though she didn't show it, she was at slight unease with the reason behind the explosion. She had, for some unknown reason, thought that Aello would understand, that she would not be angry. Oh, for the compensation of our errors. Her mother was not the type to be sympathetic to anyone, save maybe her sisters. Iris shook head sadly at her mistake, and flopped onto her bed.

This blatant show of disobedience only proved to infuriate Aello more, but she forced herself to calm down some. Suddenly, blessed with a brilliant idea, she smirked. The look caused Iris to stop wallowing silently and sit up. No one was safe when her mother got that look on her face.

"Well…" Aello started, coolly and calmly as though the two had just been discussing the weather. Iris narrowed her eyes. "If you have such difficulty behaving yourself when I give you freedom to do what you'd like, I suppose that I could enforce my rules more strictly…" She trailed off, smirking in a way that made Iris suspect the worst.

Aello pretended to think. "You will go back to that school." She decided, leaving Iris wondering where the punishment came in. "And you may speak to that boy." Iris was still more confused. "But you will not go alone." The little colour drained from Iris's pale face as she realized what her mother meant.

Aello patted her daughter's cheek. "It's all for the best, Iris, and you know that I only have your best interests at heart." _What heart?_ Iris thought scathingly_._

"Europa will meet you at the gates tomorrow." Aello smiled, knowing she had won this battle. She turned on her heel and left, shutting the door firmly behind her. Iris sank back into the pillows wondering just how hard it was to kill a harpy.

………

When she tired of moping, she stood and walked to the computer at her desk. She turned it on, accessing the internet, staring at the picture that was, for reasons unknown, so captivating…

_Why were his eyes different colours? What did he gaze at so intently? What caused that little furrow between his eyes…_

_Chapter 4 (Part 3) ~ Insomnia _

Artemis lay staring at the ceiling, his gaze steely, as though he could learn the secrets of the universe from each speck, and they weren't telling him. His thoughts drifted, something he rarely allowed…Her pale ivory skin…obsidian-black locks…and the mystery of her eyes, their colour still forgotten….

_Why does this torment me so?_ He wondered. _I haven't even spoken to her._ And then, _Blasted puberty._

The moonlight filtered in through gauzy curtains (chosen by his mother, of course), casting an eerie shadow over all it touched. His own pale flesh glowed in the dim light, a dull radiance. The storm outside had clamed as the night claimed all, leaving but a gentle gust of wind to sooth the world into a peaceful slumber. Most of the world had answered the call of the night.

Sleep was impossible. A daft dream. He knew it would kill him in the morning, when he was expected to show up for class, but he knew that his mind would never let him rest. So he left his mind to it's vile games, giving in to the subconscious thoughts it so desperately wanted to dream…

_Tomorrow I will talk to her, _Artemis promised himself. _I will not be a coward. I am Artemis Fowl II. _With the promise of a new day, he settled in for a long night of wondering, wondering, _wondering…_

_

* * *

_

Haha. Well, I truly hope that this chapter made up for the suck-tastic one before it....heehee...I couldn`t help but add that puberty thing in there at the end. It was too tempting. I know that it wasn't very long, but the next chapter will be much better, as, not only will it be longer, but I will actually give Holly something to do rather than bang her head on her desk (again, too tempting), and Arty will actually speak to Iris! Yay! Thanks to Liz, for being so supportive of my clinical angst while writing this, and thanks also to Liris, for reviewing every chapter...I probably missed someone, but oh, well!

Through Love and Lies,

Realistic Fate.

p.s. Yes, I changed my pen name to Realistic Fate. There is a reason behind that, but it`s ALLLLLLLL written on my profile, and I am not rewriting it here. Amen. Good bye. XD


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